Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1887-04-09
INDUSTRIAL BRIEFLETS.

lorts are made which lead rs TO believe
hat evil effects may sometimes follow
Ike use of sorghum as fodder. Cen
orally any such injury is attributed to
he poor condition in which the fodder
used Two French chemists, Berthe
OF and Andre. have latterly shown that
he lower part of the sorghum contains
enough nitrates to make Its use obiec-
tionable. 1t has been estimated that
n one hundred pounds of sorghum as
much as six ounces of nitrates are
found. Since these salts are mostly in
he lower p art Of the-stalk it is recon-
mended to cut sorghum rather high
when it is 70 be used for fodder. By
observing this precaution and also see
ng that when sorghum is preserved in
silO it is fed in good condition. no
LANCER need be apprehended.
The cause of the fertility produced
n fruit trees BY bending the twigs at
an acute angle. has been investigated
by Professor SOraner. He finds that
The bark on the lower surface of the
twig. below the bend. is thrown into.
transverse folds, here and there de-
tached from the wood. New woody
I Ssue is formed in these cavities, which
IS TILED with starch grains. and after
this there is 4 formation of new woody
tissue of Il normal character, but al
WAYS thicker there than elsewhere, and
especially on the convex upper surface.
The mass Of woody tissue checks the
flow OF water toward the tip OF the
branch, to the great advantage of the
bud directly beneath, which is thus
more likely to develop as fruit bud.
Some observations made in France
b, NJ. Cosson may throw light upon
many mysterious fires. In one instance
spontaneous firing arose from an air
current heated to Il degrees, Fahrenheit
only. The wood slowly carbonz ed
at that temperature. and. being thus
made extremely poruos, rapid absorb
ton of oxygen resulted, and sufficient
heat was then produced to inhame the
dry material In another case the
warmth from the air-hole of a stove
was sufficient to set fire to WOO d-work.
When files have become clogged with
oil and grease the best plan is to boil
them for few minutes i'll some
strong caustic soda-water. A little
scrubbing with an old toothbrush W i'll
be beneficial before rincing thin in boil
ing water and drying before u fire.
The pins" which are so harmful to
fine work. can be removed by thin.
hard piece of sheet brass. These "pins"
may to great extent be avoided by
using chalk on the file if it be used dry,
or oil when that may be applied.
Some experiments carried out at the
Ontario Agricultural college to test the
terminating qualities of seeds of vari-
Gus kinds. ten years old, have given the
percentage of termination: Tares. 80;
mangolds, -; turnips. 32; buckwheat,
10; clover, 6; timothy grass, =; hurley.
oats, rye, beans. and peas, 0 Several
samples of most var cites were tried.
In the case of beans. though ten sam
pies failed to terminate, two tried sep
arately gave a per cent of 80.
Bad breath in cows indicate some dis
order of the stomach, and is generally
accompanied by feverlsh symptoms,
either hot or cold horns, and falling
off of milk. The feeding of a handful
or two of pulverized charcoal with each
feed of meal or bran. and mixed with
it, in our experience is one of the best
correctives that can be used. 1t is
equally valuable for all other domestic
animals, and not less so in the family,
only the quantity should be decreased.
An English fOod-inspector, Mr..
James Bell, finds that horsefiesh and
beef can not be positively distinguish
ed by external appearance. but that the
fat is a reliable test. The horse-fat is
fluid at temperature of 20 degrees,
and has 4 specific gravity ut 100 de-
grees of about 908.7; while the fat of
beef melts at 10 to 120 degrees. and is
considerably lighter. The low melting
point of the fat will show when
sausages are made from borse-meat.
Bruises NAV be taken out of the
woodwork of scientific instruments by
wetting with warm water. Then lay
on the place brown paper about five
layers thick, and apply 4 hot fiat-iron
until the moisture is evaporated. II
the bruise is not gone repeat the pro-
cess. II the bruise is small, merely
soak it with warm water, and apply a
redhot poker very near the surface.
Keep the wood wet and in a few min
utes the bruise will disappear.
The annual general meeting of the
British Beekeepers' association was
held Feb. I6 at No. los Jermyn street
PIccadilly, the Baroness Burdett'
Coutts, president of the association.
being in the chair. The report for the
past year. which was adopted, showed
that the wosk had been more success
ful than previously, the Improvement
being due to royal patronage. and tt
the support given by the count,
affiliated branches.
Al. Brown urged the Importance